“This is a sobering reminder for Californians that Zika can cause serious harm to a developing fetus”, CDPH Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith said in a statement released on Thursday.
Advertisement
Louisiana health officials said four new cases of travel-related Zika virus infections were confirmed this week in the state.
An additional non-travel related case has been identified inside the one-square mile area in Miami-Dade County, bringing the total cases to 16.
The state Department of Health said Friday that for privacy reasons, it would not disclose what towns the people live in. Obama requested $1.9 billion three months ago for several purposes, including creating a vaccine for the disease, taking steps to control the mosquitoes that spread Zika and helping other countries battle the virus. Nor would the state reveal if any of them are pregnant women, a vulnerable population given the apparent link to Zika and birth defects in unborn children. “So we are using that model as we move forward”, Philip said.
With the likelihood that the number of local cases will only increase, sexual transmission of Zika also remains a concern, as individuals who have contracted the virus can unknowingly pass it on.
The CDC is urging pregnant women and their partners to stay away from Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood – the first time the CDC has ever warned against travel to an American neighborhood for fear of an infectious disease. The mosquitoes could be resistant to the pesticides being used, or the mosquitoes could be hiding in what we call “cryptic” breeding places that are hard to find, like very small amounts of water where they can hatch. The CDC has reported 14 cases of sexually transmitted infections. These infections are thought to have occurred because the patients’ partners had traveled to countries where Zika is circulating, the CDC said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on mosquito-borne diseases.
Advertisement
The confirmation of local Zika cases in southern Florida has many experts anxious, particularly local OB-GYNs whose pregnant patients are now at risk for babies born with severe microcephaly. If not, then the risk of sexual transmission would only likely be an issue if one or both partners has traveled to a Zika zone.
